A closer look at a new era of electrical innovation in motorsport

Formula E will usher in a new era with its Gen3 Evo machinery that will debut in December's Sao Paolo E-Prix. The arrival of all-wheel drive is set to make a huge difference to how races play out

Synonymous with motorsport and not short on glitz or glamour given its picturesque Mediterranean coast location, Monte Carlo played host earlier this year to the unveiling of Formula E’s newest challenger – the Gen3 Evo.

A traditional step change that’s come at the midpoint of the four-year cycle for all generations of Formula E cars so far, on the surface the Gen3 Evo appears no different from its older brother, which has been used for the past two seasons.

As ever, though, the devil is in the detail and a closer look at the bodywork reveals noticeable differences. The general shape of the car has been refined and the sidepods pulled in tighter around the cockpit to give it a sleeker appearance while not impacting the tub’s integrity or compromising safety.

The front wing, a component that has almost certainly become one of the most in-demand items at the spare parts unit during a race weekend, has been strengthened in a bid to prevent it becoming damaged and falling off entirely during races. The part could have been made stronger when the Gen3 car was launched in 2022, but the robustness of the sturdier Gen2 front wing meant at times it was used as a battering ram by some drivers – with little in the way of a performance hindrance.

The decision to create a comparatively flimsier front wing to combat that issue somewhat ironically coincided with the Gen3 car producing copious amounts of drag compared to its predecessor. This created a peloton-style of pack racing, which has meant constant changes of position that often leaves carbon fibre strewn in its wake.

These modifications to the outside of the car will have a minimal performance effect. Under the bodywork is where the major change has occurred. The front motor itself is nothing new; the spec part has been a feature of the Gen3 car since its inception, its sole purpose being to harvest and recoup energy in braking zones. But from next season the motor will provide power to the front axle, producing all-wheel drive (AWD) for the first time in the all-electric championship as it embarks on its second decade.

McLaren’s chief engineer Albert Lau, who joined the championship in 2018 and helped Nyck de Vries to the 2021 title with Mercedes, believes the new technology will be “a game-changer”.

“Honestly, it’s a whole new world,” Lau tells Autosport. “To put a number on it, you’re talking about two to three seconds of lap time in qualifying, which is significant. Our drivers [Sam Bird and Taylor Barnard] have hopped into the car in manufacturer testing and both came out thinking, ‘Wow, that’s quite awesome’.”

The changes for this year mean that a maximum 50kW of energy from an allotted 350kW can be sent to the front wheels, but only in certain situations. This includes the qualifying duels, when drivers go head-to-head to determine grid positions, at the start of the race and during both Attack Mode activations.

The introduction of the technology made headlines from the off back in April, when Formula E’s PR machine proudly announced that its 0-60mph time of 1.82s would fractionally beat the benchmark set by a Formula 1 car.

“Honestly, it’s a whole new world” Albert Lau, McLaren chief engineer

The Gen3 Evo was put through its paces publicly for the first time that weekend by two-time Monaco Grand Prix winner David Coulthard, who was enthused by the experience. So too the current generation of Formula E drivers, with several able to experience the new car via manufacturer running before teams embarked on their own post-season schedules ahead of pre-season testing, which commences in Valencia at the start of next month.

One of the first given the chance to experience the new car was DS Penske’s reserve driver Oliver Turvey. With 88 Formula E race starts to his name and an engineering degree that’s helped him remain a McLaren F1 test driver since 2009, the 37-year-old Briton believes it will be a hit.

“[The AWD] made quite a big difference,” he relates. “Certainly on the kind of street tracks or tighter tracks that we race on, it’s going to be quite powerful. It’ll certainly make the cars a lot quicker in qualifying and make the Attack Mode more useful. It’s definitely going to make the car nicer to drive.

“In the race, when you go from rear-wheel drive to then AWD in Attack Mode, adapting quickly to that will be important. But I still think you can take some lessons from last year and that will benefit you in aspects of the race when you’re only running RWD.”

Although up to 50kW can be sent to the front axle, that certainly doesn’t mean the maximum amount will be used at every opportunity. Finding the perfect balance between front and rear traction will be a constant quest for drivers and teams. Its use will also likely create greater strategic possibilities during races, with Attack Mode set to be taken later in proceedings due to the sheer performance advantage it will provide and power to help change the complexion of races. But with the new technology comes possible compromises, according to Lau.

“The AWD is going make a big difference just because you’re going to be pushed to use a little bit more energy and that’s going change the shape of the race,” he says. “In terms of how we use the 50kW, it’s a lot more complicated than that [using the maximum amount] because ultimately the front powertrain is a spec part that everyone’s running. It’s not going to have the level of efficiency of the rear powertrains that the manufacturers spend thousands of hours on the rigs, just to fine-tune that detail of efficiency.

“There’s always going to be a little bit of, ‘Should I be using more of the rear, more of the front? Where do those efficiencies lie? How do I get the best drive out of the car out of the corners?’ You’re weighing all of those things to make sure you have exactly the right amount of torque coming from the front or the rear for that corner where the efficiencies lie, which axle is grip limited, all of those things.

“When I said it was a whole new world, that’s the kind of area I’m talking about. You’re given an extra thing to play with and as engineers, we’re always going to push to find the most performance out of it.”

While AWD technology is nothing new, having been utilised in the World Rally Championship for decades, and more recently in the World Endurance Championship, its use in single-seaters is far more rare. The end of the 1960s and early 1970s was when it was last taken seriously at motor racing’s pinnacle by the likes of Colin Chapman at Lotus, and at McLaren and Matra, with limited success. But with the technology now an integral part of electric road vehicles, it was an avenue the championship and governing body the FIA felt needed to be explored both from a sporting and technical perspective.

“Formula E already had the front powertrain for the regeneration and after 10 years one of the questions that our promoter and the FIA always asks is, why not innovate?” says Pablo Martino, the FIA’s Head of Championship for Formula E.

“Especially on a feature that is quite relevant for the automotive industry, because all the electric cars are four-wheel drive almost from inception. So why not use that expertise to try to transfer and provide additional features that can be interesting for the automotive industry?

“We have two things: first the performance gain, which is always interesting to get, that’s why we decided to move forward with this four-wheel drive, and the second one is the relevancy for the automotive industry.”

The move towards a greater amount of grip also coincides with the other big change ahead of the 2024-25 season, which is a softer compound of Hankook tyre. The manufacturer believes it will offer 5-10% more grip than the previous iteration. Having come in for blunt criticism from drivers for being ultra-durable to the extent of offering limited grip, the Korean brand has worked to supply a tyre that should also yield lap time improvements.

“It’s closer to a racing tyre than the previous one,” adds Martino, “which is good but it’s going to be challenging as well for them. We have a policy where we’re trying to think of the environment and the waste of tyres, so we will run with the same quota for the tyres. They offer a little bit more performance and it will bring some other challenges in terms of tyre wear, but at the end, it’s part of racing.”

"For the Gen3 Evo, it’s another step forward in terms of performance, it has the four-wheel drive and the better tyres – they’re going to be another couple of seconds a lap quicker" Oliver Turvey

It means that, whereas energy consumption has previously been the number one factor in determining the outcome of races, managing tyres at certain venues with an abrasive track surface and high temperatures could now become the critical element.

While focus is on the Gen3 Evo and the impact that will create on Formula E over the next two seasons, work is already running at full pace on the Gen4 car, which will bring another significant performance upgrade when introduced for the 2026-27 season. Bridgestone will replace Hankook as tyre supplier, while the Spark Racing Technologies group will continue to supply the chassis – having done so since the outset of the championship.

Two types of tyre will be used for the first time in the championship’s history. These include a ‘baseline’ rubber, which will be a grooved all-weather tyre that “must guarantee sufficient grip to ensure safe racing in light rain”, says Martino, and a second ‘typhoon’ compound will be “mandatory in heavy rain”.

Separate high and low downforce configurations will be available, while there will be a power increase that will peak at 600kW – nearly double the current level. Combined, it will help to create another leap for electric technology.

“It’s been amazing to see the progression of Formula E – in 10 years they’ve really achieved a lot in terms of electric racing,” says Turvey. “Each generation of car has been a good step forwards in speed and range. The car from Gen1 to Gen2, we went from two cars to racing with one car, and then from Gen2 to Gen3, the speed of the cars has increased as well.

“Not only just the feeling to drive, but just the actual speed of the cars, the power they have now. Again, for the Gen3 Evo, it’s another step forward in terms of performance, it has the four-wheel drive and the better tyres – they’re going to be another couple of seconds a lap quicker.

“It’s definitely a challenge for the drivers; the new car is going to be the fastest Formula E car yet. They’ve also managed to keep the racing close and exciting, and there’s a lot of strategy involved – the races have always come down to the final few laps. It’s a really tough, challenging series where all the details matter now.”